Male versus Female Brain Teacher Instructions

[Pages:27]Male versus Female Brain Teacher Instructions

Core Concepts: Overall male and female brain form and function is very similar, however, on average there are some differences that may explain differences in the rates of some neurological diseases in male and females. Endocrine glands secrete hormones that act throughout the body including the brain

Class time required: Approximately 2 X 40 minute class periods if part 1 is done as a pre-lab, parts 2, 3 and 5 are

done in class and parts 4 and 6 are done as homework.

Teacher Provides:

For ALL PARTS each student will need

Copy of student handout For Part 3 each team of 2-4 students:

Copy of Brain Map (black and white printed on paper) Copy of Female Brain Map Overlay (printed in color on transparency) Copy of Male Brain Map Overlay (printed in color on transparency)

For Part 5 each team of 2-4 students:

Bag or bin containing: o 1.5 ml microtubes or other small tubes prepared as shown in the chart below:

Label on Tube

Contents of Tube ? 1 mL of

Jack 3 month old male

pH 9 buffer

Jill 3 month old female

pH 6 buffer

Testosterone Test Solution

0.01% Bromothymol blue solution

o Droppers labeled: Jack 3 mo old male Jill 3 mo old female Testosterone Test Solution

o Hormone Test Sheet (page 5)printed on plastic transparency sheets

o Small bag labeled "Estrogen Test Paper" containing at least 5 small pieces (cut paper into pieces that are about ? inch long) of pH 1-12 test paper.

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o Testosterone and Estrogen Color Charts (page 6).Consider laminating for use by multiple classes.

For Part 6 each team of 2-4 students:

Copy of Hippocampus Neuron (printed in color on paper) Copy of Amygdala Neuron (printed in color on paper) Copy of Testosterone Signal Pathway Overlay (printed in color on transparency)

Suggested Class Procedure

1. Assign Part 1 "Don't get Testy"... handout for homework or discuss as a group as a pre-lab activity

2. Do Part 2 in class with each student completing the tests on their own

In this activity students will take one or two short memory tests that have been reported to show male/female differences.

The first test is the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) a verbal memory test in which a list of 16 words (a grocery list) is read aloud to the class. After a pause of 1 minute (or longer) of time students are asked to write down as many of the words as they can remember. The total number of correct words is then tallied.



The second spatial memory test is a that tests spatial memory through a spatial rotation test. Students are provided with a complex 2 dimensional image and then must determine which of three possible choices represents the same object rotated in any of three dimensions. This is considered a memory task as one must keep the original image in their mind as they compare it to the other available options.

3. Perform Part 3 as students work in small groups. Students will learn some brain anatomy as they determine which regions of the brain differ in size on average between males and females.

4. Have students complete Part 4 "Neurological Diseases in Males and Females" as homework or in class. This section provides students with a table of data on the rates of neurological diseases in males and females. Alzheimer's disease is not included as the difference in Alzheimer's incidence in males and females (higher in females) is due to the greater lifespan of females. Males and females of the same age have the same rate of Alzheimer's incidence.

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Important Note: The fact that there are NO neurological diseases which ONLY affect males or ONLY affect females indicates that there is considerable overlap in the form and function of male and female brains.

5. Complete Parts 5 "Hormones and the Brain"

Distribute the following materials to each team when students begin Part 5. Droppers and tubes labeled: o Jack 3 mo old male o Jill 3 mo old female o Testosterone Test Solution Hormone Test Sheet Small bag of "Estrogen Test Paper" Testosterone and Estrogen Color Chart

6. Part 6 "Sorting Out The Signals" as students work in small groups.

In this part the students will use short reading passage and a simple model to develop their understanding of how hormones can affect neurons. Specifically they will examine the steps that occur in two different brain neuron types from testosterone binding, to transcription, to translation, and cellular effects.

7. Provide Part 7 "Bias-ology" as homework or discuss in class.

Additional information/resources

Here is a link to a 2012 article by McCarthy et al entitled, "Sex Differences In The Brain: The Not So Inconvenient Truth"

This is an article from 2005 in Scientific American written by Larry Cahill, Professor of Neurobiology at the University of California of

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Part 2 Teacher Instructions for memory tests

Test #1 Verbal memory (Females on average tend to perform better at this memory task)

1. Read the list of words below entitled, "Monday's Shopping List" to the students at a normal pace.

2. Have students wait one minute after the last word is read.

3. Allow students 1 minute to write down all the words they remember in the student data table.

4. After 1 minute of writing, read the list aloud again and have students mark all the correct words that they listed.

5. Have students calculate the total number of words they correctly remembered in the space provided on the table.

6. Class averages for males and females can be tallied and, if desired, graphed.

Monday's Shopping list

1. Apples 2. Bananas 3. Grapes 4. Oranges 5. Pepper 6. Salt 7. Sugar 8. Cinnamon

9. Cheese 10. Milk 11. Yogurt 12. Butter 13. Ham 14. Turkey 15. Ground beef 16. Chicken

Test #2 Spatial Memory Test (Males on average tend to perform better on this test) 1. Hand out the spatial rotation tests to the students face down.

2. Students should be instructed that for each image on the left side of the page there are two images on the right side which represent the SAME object rotated in some direction.

3. Students must correctly identify BOTH of the correct answers for the question to get credit for that question.

4. Allow 5 minutes for the students to answer the questions.

5. Review the correct answers with the students and have them record the total number correct.

6. Class averages for males and females can be calculated and if desired, graphed.

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For Part 5

Hormone Test Sheet (print on transparency sheet)

Hormone Test Sheet

Testosterone Test

Estrogen Test

Jack 3-month old male

Jill 3-month old female

Hormone Test Sheet

Jack 3-month old male

Testosterone Test

Estrogen Test

Jill 3-month old female

Hormone Test Sheet

Jack 3-month old male

Jill 3-month old female

Testosterone Test

Estrogen Test

Hormone Test Sheet

Jack 3-month old male

Jill 3-month old female

Testosterone Test

Estrogen Test

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Testosterone Test

Color Chart

Testosterone Level

Color

0-5

Estrogen Test

Color Chart

Estrogen Level

Color

0

6-10

1

11-50

2

51-100

3

101-200

4

201-300

5

Testosterone Test

Color Chart

Testosterone Level

Color

0-5

Estrogen Test

Color Chart

Estrogen Level

Color

0

6-10

1

11-50

2

51-100

3

101-200

4

201-300

5

Testosterone Test

Color Chart

Testosterone Level

Color

0-5

Estrogen Test

Color Chart

Estrogen Level

Color

0

6-10

1

11-50

2

51-100

3

Life Sciences Learning Center

Cop1y0rig1h-t2?002013, University of Roche4ster

May be copied for classroom use

201-300

5

Testosterone Test

Color Chart

Testosterone Level

Color

0-5

Estrogen Test

Color Chart

Estrogen Level

Color

0

6-10

1

11-50

2

51-100

3

101-200

4

201-300

5

Testosterone Test

Color Chart

Testosterone Level

Color

0-5

Estrogen Test

Color Chart

Estrogen Level

Color

0

6-10

1

11-50

2

51-100

3

101-200

4

201-300

5

Testosterone Test

Color Chart

Testosterone Level

Color

0-5

Estrogen Test

Color Chart

Estrogen Level

Color

0

6-10

1

11-50

2

51-100 101-200

3 vi

4

201-300

5

For Part 3 (print on regular paper)

Brain Map

(

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For Part 6 (print on regular paper)

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May be copied for classroom use

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